Hey Fayetteville, Would You Follow a Recipe You Found on a Gravestone?

Cruising around TikTok can be quite an adventure, and I never expected it to take me into the art of the gravestone recipe.  I was scrolling through the other and Rosie Grant caught my eye.

She's made a social media presence her hobby of collecting recipes off of people's headstones, creating the dishes, and reporting about them on social media. She is known as ghostlyarchive on TikTok, where she has 95,000 plus followers.

I am completely enamored by the practice and artistry of gravestone recipes.  Cooking is the ultimate language of love in my family, with recipes being passed down from generation to generation, keeping us connected through tradition. According to Seven Ponds, "Many memories of the beloved dead seem to be tied to food – our lost loved one’s favorite recipes, what they baked and/or cooked, what they ate, and even what they brought to gatherings, even if they did not prepare the food themselves."

Seven Ponds says these recipes have been found only East of the Mississippi River.

"One relatively well-known example of a gravestone recipe was the headstone of Kay Andrews, who lived to be 97. Her locally famous fudge recipe was engraved, at her request, on a part of her tombstone. Anyone who thinks that typos are found only on paper or in pixels is mistaken. The recipe initially called for three times too much vanilla – a tablespoon rather than the intended teaspoon. Just in case you’re wondering, yes, a new stone was created with the correct measurement."

Rosie's TikTok is a wonderful mashup of history, cooking and exploration.  However, I know if I shared my granny's pound cake recipe on her headstone she would probably come back from the Beyond and give me what for!

Halloween is right around the corner, and that means it's the best candy season in North Carolina!

October is my favorite month of the year! We dive deeper into the fall season, it's my birthday month, and of course - it's Halloween time!

172 million Americans celebrate Halloween. Everyone has their personal preferences, but just which candy is the most popular in North Carolina?

The good folks over at candystore.com found the top 3 Halloween candies from each state, and they have some good insights into what we're loving around here.

"According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween candy spending should hit a whopping $3.1 Billion this year! That's a new all time high. We are back baby!"

Candystore.com has compiled some other fascinating data about candy sales:

Overall, North Carolina has some similarities to the country. Reese's Cups reign supreme. But what about the rest? Let's take a look at the favorite Halloween candy for people in North Carolina.

82,019 pounds purchased

79,281 pounds purchased

78,291 pounds purchased